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Xevious
Xevious (ゼビウス''Zebiusu''?)[1] is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982.[2] It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while the software shows the original name 'Xevious'.[citation needed] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xevious&action=edit&section=1 editGameplay The player uses an 8-way joystick to pilot a combat aircraft called a Solvalou, which is armed with a forward-firing Zapper for aerial targets and a Blaster which fires an unlimited supply of air-to-surface bombs for ground targets. The game, presumably set in Peru, was noted for the varied terrain below, which included forests, airstrips, bases, and mysteriousNazca Line-like drawings on the ground.[2] There are various aerial enemy aircraft which shoot relatively slow bulle ts, as well as (presumably unpiloted) fast-moving projectiles and exploding black spheres. Ground enemies are a combination of stationary bases and moving vehicles, most of which also fire slow bullets. Giant floating Andor Genesis motherships appear in certain areas; these are killed by knocking out their cores. These are considered one of the first level-bosses to be incorporated into a video game.[2] The game scrolls through 16 areas, looping back to Area 7 after Area 16. The Solvalou continually advances over varying terrain, and the boundaries between areas are marked only by dense forests being overflown. If the player dies, play normally resumes from the start of the area. If the player has completed at least 70% of the area before dying, play willbegin at the start of the next area instead.[2] As the Solvalou constan tly flies forward, it is possible to advance without killing any enemies. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xevious&action=edit&section=2 editHistory Xevious was one of the earliest vertical scrolling shooters (it was preceded by at least the 1981 Atari 8-bit computer game''Caverns of Mars) and greatly influenced games in this genre. The graphics were revolutionary for their time, and characters were rendered with remarkable clarity and effect through careful use of shades of gray and palette-shifting. It was one of the first games to have hidden bonuses which are not mentioned in the instructions but can be revealed by a secret maneuver. Among these was the 'special flag' which first appeared in ''Rally-X. In this game the flag gave the player an extra life and this feature was carried over to numerous subsequent Namco games. In 1983, the original Xevious was the first arcade game to actually have a television commercial aired for it in the U.S. Atari promoted the game with the slogan "Are you devious enough to beat Xevious?" and closed the commercial with a tag line branding it "the arcade game you can't play at home." While it saw limited popularity in the U.S., Xevious was a huge cult hit in Japan. Popular musicians Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Keisuke Kuwata(Southern All Stars) were known to be fans of the game, and the former produced an album of music from Namco video-games, with Xevious as its centerpiece. A follow-up 12" single featured in its liner notes an entire science-fiction short story by Endō, set in the world of Xevious, with even a rudimentary fictional language. According to Namco Museum DS, a three-part novel was written about Xevious entitled "Fardraut". However, not much is known about the book, implying that it was never even released. According to the game, some backgrounds, characters, events and even sounds were inspired by the book. References #'^' Prounounced /ˈzɛviəs/ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key ze'''-vee-əs''] according to the Japanese (katakana) spelling, /ˈziːviəs/ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key ''zee-vee-əs''] per television advertising by the American licensor. #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xevious#cite_ref-hardcore_1-0 '''''a] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xevious#cite_ref-hardcore_1-1 b''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xevious#cite_ref-hardcore_1-2 ''c] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xevious#cite_ref-hardcore_1-3 d] Savorelli, Carlo. [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/xevious/xevious.htm "Xevious"]. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2010-02-02. #'^' Arcade history http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xevious&action=edit&section=10 editExternal links *[http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10505 Xevious] at the Killer List of Videogames *[http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Xevious Xevious guide] at StrategyWiki Category:Namco Category:Arcade games Category:Atari Category:shooting arcade games